Light of a Dark Diamond
by ariekain
Summary: The story of L's journey to become a great detective. It shows how he gained the characteristics he now has, and what he had to endure to get to where he is now. A sometimes sad, angsty story. Some descriptions of violence. But nothing too horrific.


_**This is a new story I just started to write, about L Lawliet from Death Note. I appreciate feedback.**_

_**Chapter One The World**_

_**When L Lawliet, the world famous detective, looked back on his growing up years, he would say that they were both good and bad. He knew happiness, but he also knew pain. He was born to Haru and Nakumi Sajiro, and for four years, the small family was very happy. His parents were not wealthy, but they had enough to manage. A typical scene from the lifeo f this family would see Haru, Taruya's father, working to give his family a good life, and Nakumi and Taruya remaining at home, cultivating a strong bond that had the promise to last a lifetime. Taruya loved to say to his mother, "My world.. Happy." He did not have very much, but he had everything he needed: a loving family. But when Taruya turned four, his happy world was shattered. During those years, arsonists and gangsters abounded in the city that Taruya grew up in. Firefighters were constantly in a state of alertness, trying to stay on top of all the cases of fire, vandalism, and robbery. But more often than not, they would quickly become overwhelmed, and houses would either be consumed by flame or defaced. Because of this, many lives were lost, and many people's livelihoods received dents. Late one night, an arsonist, seeing the Sajiro house, decided to make it his latest target, and set it afire. By some fortunate happenstance, Haru was still awake, smelled the smoke, and roused his wife. However, by this time, the flames had spread their malicious tongues and were quickly consuming the house. Haru and Nakumi were becoming overcome by the thick billows of smoke, but they were determined to escape the inferno. Haru and Nakumi groped their way through the smoke to Taruya's room, yanked open the door, and pulled the young Taruya from his bed. By this time, the fire had spread, and the house was in danger of collapsing. But Haru was still bent on saving his family. Holding his son in one hand and his wife's arm in the other, he slowly made his way along to the entrance of the house, and found the door. However, the heat had made the handle unbearably hot, and he could not keep a grip on it. Without hesitating, he tore off part of his shirt, and wrapped it around the door, hoping that he would not be burned. The cloth was just what he needed, and he managed to get the door open. He thrust his wife outside, and then handed Taruya over to her. The second of time that Haru used to save his family could have saved himself, but by this time, the smoke and the burning heat had completely overwhelmed Haru, and he collapsed right inside the doorway. Nakumi saw her husband fall and she gave a small cry of despair before she herself succumbed to the choking effects of the smoke. As she sank onto the grass, Taruya fell from her arms and landed with a "thud", causing him to start to cry. Nakumi died there, the last image before her eyes closed was of her dear son. Taruya crawled over to his mother, and tried to make her wake up again, not knowing that she was gone. By this time, the smoke and the flames that were rising into the sky alerted the neighbors, and soon the firefighters were also called. But the fire had consumed the house, and eventually burned to the ground, destroying all the possessions of the Sajiro family. The paramedics arrived shortly after, and took away Taruya and his parents. **_

_**The next day, after undergoing examinations, Taruya was declared to be healthy, except for a cough because of the smoke. He was released from the hospital into the care of his only living relatives, his aunt and uncle. The hospital staff notified them, and they arrived within a few days to take away Taruya. Even though Taruya was still very young, he sensed that something had changed. But he still thought that his parents would come and take him home again someday, and that this time with his aunt and uncle would end soon. After leaving the hospital, Satoshi and Misako Kina, Taruya's relatives, took him to their house, a squat and ugly building, painted a sickening burnt orange color. Taruya did not know it then, but this unfriendly-looking house would be his home for the next 12 years of his life. Instead of the loving happy home he had known with his family, Taruya would come to know nothing but misery and abuse at the hands of people who turned out to be very cruel. **_

_**The next day, Taruya received the first taste of the bitter natures of his aunt and uncle. That morning, he received a very rude and abrupt awakening, when Misako burst into his room and informed him that he was not ever to leave his room, and then promptly walked out again. Seeing as Taruya was only four, he was very confused by this, and kept wondering where his parents were, and when they would come and take him away. Every day, Taruya kept hoping and waiting for his mother and father to come, but every day, things kept getting worse. Satoshi and Misako became more and more angry and abusive, and soon started taking everything out on Taruya. As Taruya grew older, Satoshi began beating up Taruya every couple of nights, often leaving him bruised and bleeding. Misako was also very heartless; she would refuse to feed him, even when he would beg her for a small scrap of food. Because of Misako's neglect, Taruya was severely underweight by age ten. Around age twelve, because of his uncle's cruelty, he became afraid of sleeping, in case his uncle would come in and start hitting him again. Taruya began developing insomnia, and would sit for hours curled up, trying to seem as small as possible. He became plagued with all sorts of fears, including people, being touched, and loud sounds. Soon, he had reached the end of his physical ability to endure, and closed himself away within his mind. It seemed to him that he would never escape the horrifying cycle of neglect and torment that he found himself in. He was proceeding down the path to despair and brokenness, and he felt abandoned because his parents had never come back. But he was not totally alone; one day, Taruya felt hope come to him once more, after years of pain. On the very day of his sixteenth birthday, he discovered that Misako and Satoshi had left the house, presumably to run errands. It was then that Taruya seized his chance, and left the house, taking nothing with him, as he had nothing to begin with. Due to Misako's neglect and Satoshi's physical abuse, Taruya was not very strong, and was not able to move very quickly, but he managed to put a good distance between him and the house. After he had gotten quite far away, Taruya stopped and rested on a large rock alongside a road. He could not help but smile, at least a little, as hope filled him again. He felt hopeful at the prospect of maybe, just maybe, gaining his freedom. But as he sat on the rock, his happy feelings were replaced with a sense of being lost. As he had not been out of his house for sixteen years, he had no idea where he would go or what he would do. All that he knew was that he was facing a new start, and a new life, and with the right opportunity, he could accomplish anything he wanted to do. Taruya could not help the excitement that filled him and he began to laugh. He was truly alive and free. No one could hurt him any more. **_


End file.
